Junior leagues drop a 10-spot on Jr. Ducks during May drafts
A total of eight current and former Anaheim Jr. Ducks players were selected in the United States Hockey League’s (USHL) Phase I and II Drafts on May 7-8, while two more went in the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Bantam Draft on May 3.
Defenseman Kobe Pane was picked in the Phase I draft by Central Illinois in the 10th round (145th overall). Pane was a member of the Midget 16U team that won a bronze medal at the Tier I USA Hockey Youth Nationals in April and had 19 points in 36 Tier 1 Elite Hockey League games.
Seven more players were selected in the Phase II Draft.
The 1998-born players included forward Andre Ghantous, whom Omaha picked in the third round (35th overall). Ghantous scored 58 points, including 14 in the playoffs, for Trail (BCHL). Forward Patrick Choi was selected in the ninth round (147th) by Omaha. Choi had 56 points, including 24 goals, for Syracuse of the NCDC. Goaltender Garrett Nieto, a Union College commit, went in the 11th round (168th) to Cedar Rapids. Nieto had a 25-7-2 record with a 2.00 GAA and a .929 save percentage for Janesville (NAHL).
The 1999s included defenseman Nolan McElhaney, who went to Muskegon in the fourth round (58th overall), and forward Cooper Haar, who was taken by Dubuque in the seventh round (108th). McElhaney had 47 points in 32 games for Cushing Academy, while Haar had 33 points for Bismarck (NAHL).
A couple of 2001 teammates of Pane’s also were taken – forward Joseph Harguindeguy by Muskegon in the 14th round (222nd overall) and forward Jonathan Panisa (pictured) by Central Illinois in the 15th round (229th overall).
Harguindeguy had 35 points in 36 Tier 1 Elite League games, while Panisa had 26 points in 36 games.
In addition, the WHL Bantam drafts were a pair of 2003s – forward Benjamin Palmerscheim, who was taken by Kamloops in the eighth round (176th overall), and former Jr. Ducks defenseman Ross Roloson, who went in the 10th round (200th overall) to Victoria.
— Chris Bayee
(June 18, 2018)
